Bobservations

Last week when we got pricked—by an incredibly beautiful military man—both Carlos and I wondered if it would hurt. Neither one of us could remember the last time we’d been pricked, medically speaking, and so we were slightly apprehensive.

But it was easy peasy and over before we knew it, and then we had to sit in another room and wait fifteen minutes to make sure there were no immediate side effects. We took a seat and I glanced at the clock; it was 11:30.Okay, 11:45 and we’d be on our way. Carlos was sitting in a chair the requisite six feet away and had his phone out:

“Hey Siri? Set a timer for fifteen minutes.”

Then he looked at me and said:

“Did you ask your Siri to set an alarm?”

“No. I’m gonna go wild and just look at the clock on the wall.”

Several people in the room chuckled and I almost got up and gave them a fifteen-minute set. But Carlos got most of the chuckles because every so often I’d hear:

“Twelve minutes, seven seconds.”

“Nine minutes, 33 seconds.”

“Seven minutes, 54seconds.”

“Three minutes, 45 seconds.”

Gosh, that man slays me.

We have no idea how old Tuxedo is. When we rescued him from an animal hospital Carlos managed in Miami, he was a grown-assed cat, so I’m thinking he was a year or more. We’ve lived in Smallville almost fifteen years, and had him for about a year before that, so he’s seventeen? Just a guess.

And he’s getting older. He has issues with his kidneys and is on a special diet, which he actually loves; and he’s so smart that he will not even bother with the “other cat’s” food but will wait for his meals. He’s also lost some muscle mass in his back legs and so he is no longer a jumper. That cat that used to jump to a high closet shelf, a bathroom counter, a high bed, now doesn’t jump at all, and when he wants to sit in my lap, he puts his front paws on my knee and I hoist him up.

However, he still loves sitting in a windowsill on a sunny morning, and the sills at Casa Bob y Carlos are about 14 inches off the ground but even that’s too high for him; and, because some vicious person declawed him before we saved him, he has no front claws to help him up. So, again, he’s very smart, he uses his paws to grab the sill and then stretches his legs out so that his, what I would call forearms, are on the sill, and he lifts himself onto the sill, and then naps.

Breaks my heart, but he makes do, and is still a loving sweet smart boy.

What do you get when you cross a moron with a sexual predator?

You get GQP wingnuts Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene who are teaming up to start an “America First Tour” of rallies around the country.

Lock up your teenage daughters and get out your Moron to English dictionaries America, the loons are on the loose.

Until recently, Ohio was one of two states that prohibited trans people from correcting the gender listed on their birth certificates but those days are nearly over.

In a few weeks, the Ohio Department of Health will unveil a process by which trans people can update their birth certificates to reflect their lived gender.

It’s about time, Ohio. Now, the only state left in the U.S. that refuses to allow trans people to apply for birth certificates that are authentic to their identities is, wait for it, you know it, Tennessee.

In other good news for trans Americans, down there in Texas … yes, Texas … Jace King is the first openly trans teen in their town, in Texas, in the entire country, to become an Eagle Scout.

Jace joined a BSA troop in 2019, after the group began allowing youth of all genders to join. That inclusion made possible King’s lifelong dream to become an Eagle Scout like their older brother. But they had to work fast to achieve it before turning 18, and so Jace  did so, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, which usually takes four to six year, in 25 months.

Bravo, Jace.

More good trans news? Yes, please. Pennsylvania Governor, and Democrat, Tom Wolf has told the GOP-majority legislature that if they pass a ban on trans girls and women in sports, it will be vetoed.

And while the GOP has a majority in both the state house and senate, it does not have a two-thirds majority in either chamber, the required amount to override a veto by the governor.

Thank you, Governor Wolf, for seeing hate and discrimination for what it is, and refusing to allow it.

I like me some HGTV. I like seeing new ideas for things to do in the house or the garden, and so I was kinda interested to see Inside Out, a new show where an interior designer and a landscape designer work together on both the inside and outside of the home.

And I was especially happy to see the hosts, designer Carmine Sabatella and landscaper Mike Pyle, two beefy hot hunks of men. And my gaydar pinged a little though I couldn’t tell if it was for sweet talking Carmine or hunk with that smile Mike, so I went to my old buddy Google, who told me that Mike has a girlfriend—whatever—but Carmine has a husband—I knew it—the hottie below, Ryan Delair.

I was kinda hoping for Mike because, sheesh, that smile, but I could be the meat in a Carmine Ryan sammich, with a side of Mike.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, girlfriend of the twice-impeached, one-term loser’s son, Diaper Don, says that she  “knows” Vice President Kamala Harris is secretly in charge of the White House:

“It’s really sad, [Biden’s] way in over his skis. Kamala Harris is really the de facto commander-in-chief. She made it very clear. She’s calling the shots here, I know this, I’ve known her a long time.”

Yes, Botox Barbie, the stripper of the GQP, and perhaps Junior’s coke dealer, wants us to believe that not only does she know the Vice President, but that she knows the Veep is running things.

Hey Kimberly? Get off the pole. You’re a joke.

The adult children of the twice-impeached, one-term loser have cost taxpayers a lot of money over the years, and now we know from Secret Service records that in the first thirty days after Daddy fled DC, his children’s’ travel cost taxpayers over $140,000; that figure doesn’t include charges at family-owned properties where the demon spawn charged the US government to stay at their own hotels.

The reason these charges are different is that they all occurred after Biden’s inauguration, and, ordinarily, a former president’s children are no longer entitled to Secret Service protection. But the Grifter In Chief—who is one of the :::coughcough::: richest men in the world—extended the protection for his family members and three top appointees by six months, giving more time to funnel money to his own properties.

Grifters gonna grift.

Mitch McConnell said this week:

"100% of my focus is on stopping this new administration."

Which means he and the rest of the GQP will work to get nothing done about financial aid for struggling Americans, ending the pandemic, improving environmental protections, and updating our crumbling infrastructure, or anything at all.

Once again, they will do no work, but take their paychecks and ask you to vote them back into power.

Daniel Dexter is a model and an artist and an exercise physiologist.

I only know what some of those words mean, but I do know he is all kinds of dreamboat.

Just sayin’.

Architecture Wednesday: Point Lechuza

This architectural beachfront masterpiece is in a league of its own. It sits at the northern tip of Malibu and is the last home to have been designed by the renowned mid-century modern architect Pierre Koenig.

Gated and private—because, you know, Malibu—it is located at the end of a cul-de-sac. But private doesn’t mean simple; no detail has been spared in the composition of this peaceful beachfront retreat.

Built of glass, steel and concrete, the tri-level home bridges the gap cool contemporary architecture and the warmth of nature with breathtaking ocean views. And, as well as being a significant home, it is also environmentally conscious, it  runs on an innovative system with radiant heating and solar power.

However environmentally friendly it is, there are also luxuries. You enter the home to a car lift which leads to a gated underground garage.  On that same level is the theatre and a guest bedroom.  The middle level features the living areas, dining room and kitchen, with floor-to-ceiling windows throughout. The upper-level houses three bedrooms, all of which exhibit captivating views, while the master suite features a fireplace and floating walkway leading to a private balcony floating above the ocean.

Surrounded by beautiful Palm and Cyprus trees, the lower deck includes ample oceanfront entertainment space, a dipping pool/spa, and leads to a private retractable drawbridge to step directly onto the sandy beach.

It’s practically a work of art.

Dwell

A Tale of Two Tennessee's

It hasn’t been so long that I’ve forgotten how “gay marriage” was the weapon of fear used by the GOP to get themselves elected; they spread the fear that, by allowing homosexuals to marry, traditional marriages would be ruined or destroyed … though no one ever said how this might happen. They even attempted to spin the lie that if you allowed a same-sex couple to marry, then you’d have to allow men marrying children, dogs, their cars because, well, fear.

But look around, it’s been six years since marriage equality came to be and I haven’t seen one heterosexual marriage dissolve because I married Carlos, and I haven’t been asked to the wedding or man and machine, woman and animal, or even children. It was all fear and lies, spread by the GOP.

So, because they can’t use that any longer what will they do? Attack the trans community; the new “them”. It started with the bathroom bills of a few years ago when the GOP told us that men will dress as women so they can go into a woman’s restroom and sexually harass or even rape women, even though there has not been a single case of this happened.

Sidenote: men have been raping women since time began and never needed to slip on a dress and use the ladies’ room to do it.

And now, in Tennessee, because, well, Tennessee, a veritable hot bed of ignorant backwards thinking politicians, both chambers of the state Legislature have passed a bill that would require businesses to post notices that say they allow transgender people to use the building’s restrooms.

The bathroom bill is back, y’all, only now they want to punish a business that accepts everyone; you know, this way the bigots can go somewhere else to shop or eat or browse. And if signed, this bill—which would require signs at the entrances to the building and the door of every restroom that isn’t single stalled—would make Tennessee the first state in the country to adopt legislation seeking to single out trans-affirming businesses for allowing trans people to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

How proud Tennesseans must be.

The bill’s sponsor, state Representative and Republican, because, of course, Tim Rudd seriously believes his bill isn’t aimed at transgender people since it doesn’t ban them from using the restroom altogether, though it might make businesses refuse restrooms to trans people. Instead, he says it’s aimed at “the protection of women and children against sexual predators that could be taking advantage of policies, executive orders or legislation that may allow the opposite sex to enter a restroom, shower or locker that allows more than one person in the facility at a time.”

Oh, we’re back to rapists putting on dresses. How backwards of Tennessee.

This is the same state that tried to pass a Don’t Say Gay Bill …

… the same state where another Republican, Jason Zachary, introduced a bill to allow cisgender students to sue the school if they’re not given a “reasonable accommodation” if they don’t want to share facilities with trans people …

… the same state where another bill that passed the legislature bans books that mention LGBTQ+ people from public schools …

… … the same state where another bill seeks to make the Bible the official state book …

… the same state where another bill, currently on the governor’s desk, and he has until May 3 to act on the bill or allow it to become law, requires schools to notify parents if sexual orientation or gender identity are going to be mentioned in class 30 days in advance, and gives parents the ability to opt their children out so that they don’t have to hear that LGBTQ people exist.

Tennessee, where the state motto is “Agriculture and Commerce” but should be “Fear and Ignorance”.

LGBTQ Nation

But then, this also happened in Tennessee … Dalton Stevens, a senior at Franklin High School, wanted to make a statement for his senior year prom, so he decided on bold formal attire. His boyfriend, Jacob Geittman, says:

“He did his big ‘prom-posal’ and asked me to prom, and he decided he was going to wear a dress, and I’m like, ‘Okay! You’re going to look good in it!'”

Dalton chose a floor-length red dress:

“I very much view clothes as genderless. I was very confident. I knew that I felt beautiful, and I felt great.”

But prom night, while Stevens and Geittman were at the Harpeth Hotel in downtown Franklin taking pictures, a man later identified as homophobic moron Sam Johnson, CEO of a local telemedicine company, VisuWell, decided that, as a grown-assed man, it was his job to ridicule Dalton Stevens for his attire. Dalton tells it like this:

“Slander terms thrown towards me of like ‘You look bad,’ ‘You’ve got hair on your chest, you shouldn’t be wearing a dress,’ ‘You’re not a man,’ blah, blah, blah. The fact that he thought he had the audacity to come tell me what I was supposed to wear and what I was supposed to do because of his standards.”

Or his insecurities.

Or his jealousy that he couldn’t take a boyfriend to the prom?

When the video of Johnson stalking and verbally assaulting Dalton Stevens went viral, Johnson’s employer, VisuWell, fired him, and released a statement:

“We share the concerns that so many have expressed on this matter and look forward to announcing concrete steps we are taking in support of the LGBTQ community in particular over the coming weeks.”

Here’s the deal: what does it hurt? Who does it hurt? It’s clothing, and it made Dalton Stevens feel good, until Sam Johnson, whose masculinity was threatened, came along.

And now he’s out of a job, and Dalton went to the prom and had a fabulous time.

Good.

Joe My God

Tuesday Thought #3

Tuesday thought #2

 

Tuesday Thought #1

 

A Little Help for Trans People of Color

It’s been a year and then some that COVID-19 has smacked us all in our collective faces; some have lost jobs; or seen their jobs reimagined; some have lost businesses or homes or, worst of all, their lives. But think for a second about the way COVID has affected our trans brothers and sisters, especially our trans brothers and sisters of color who, due to systemic oppression, have long faced issues like underemployment, homelessness, incarceration, medical racism, and on and on …

But the good news is that, while many on the right are attacking our trans brothers and sisters simply for being trans, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute [MPJI ]—named for the LGBTQ+ activist and self-identified drag queen who figured prominently in the Stonewall riots of 1969—an organization dedicated to protecting the human rights of Black trans people, has established a COVID Relief Fund, which provides one-time direct relief payments of $500 to those Black trans or nonbinary identifying people; as of today the organization has awarded $250,000 to 500 people.

Funds will go towards replacing lost income, help with rent, families, groceries, medical bills, and more because, as MPJI notes, nearly 20% of transgender people and 26% of transgender people of color have become unemployed due to COVID-19. Even more staggering: 67% of trans people of color say they worry about not being able to pay their bills due to the pandemic’s impact.

Elle Moxley, founder and executive director of the Marsha P. Johnson Institute:

"We are so proud to be able to offer our own stimulus check, if you will, to Black transgender people from around the country. MPJI is one of the only organizations giving cash assistance directly to the people.”

And to people who deserve it most of all.

Bravo.

Check out the Marsha P. Johnson Institute

I'd Give Chris Christie an 'F' ... as In, Well, You Know ...

Chris Christie says he would give the twice-impeached, one-term loser an ‘A’ grade for his presidency.

A is for allowing millions to lose their jobs.

A is for allowing 500,000 Americans die.

A is for allowing your racist followers to riot at the nation’s capital.

A is for allowing the economy to tank because of your ego.

A is for accepting zero responsibility for a pandemic response.

A is for accepting Putin’s lies over your own government’s truths.

A is for adultery.

I’d give Christie a big F** F*** You,  but he also gets an A for being an Asshat.

The Funny Papers

JD Crowe, Bruce Plante, Kevin Siers, Jack Ohman, Ed Wexler, Dave Whamond, Drew Sheneman, Michael de Adder, Adam Zyglis, Clay Bennett, Steve Sack, Ed Hall, Phil Hands, RJ Matson, Ann Telnaes,

I Ain't One To Gossip But ...

Kevin Spacey, former Oscar-winning thespian, current Hollywood perv, is, again, severely out of touch.

According to a new Hollywood Reporter piece detailing Spacey’s legal troubles, during a legal deposition, Spacey “sprung up from his seat” and performed a song-and-dance number.

Seriously. Sadly, no one had picked Kevin Spacey Channels Judy Garland During the Deposition on their Bingo card so there is no video.

But we do know from folks who witnessed the show, that Spacey’s performance happened during his legal battle with former employer, Media Rights Capital, who produced House of Cards, and are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages they suffered after the allegations against Spacey came out. Spacey, of course, countersued, saying they owe him money.

Anyway, after more than a year of private negotiations, the Spacey case was submitted to an arbitrator in February 2020, right before the lockdown began. And, like everything in Spacey’s world, the legal proceedings quickly turned bizarre when Spacey sprung up from his seat and performed a song-and-dance number in the conference room.

No word on what he sang, or if he brought tap shoes but I’m guessing he’s practicing his fancy footwork as a way of getting out of this mess. Not guilty by reason of being a showman?

And this lawsuit isn’t Spacey’s only legal battle. While three of his sexual misconduct accusers have died—illness, suicide, hit by a car—he’s still being sued for sexual assault by one of his ex-acting students from the ’80s—who was 14 at the time; Anthony Rapp is also a plaintiff in that suit, and he was also 14 when Kevin allegedly assaulted him. And then there are the six sexual assault accusations out of London, where Spacey lived while running the Old Vic theatre. The Brits are still deciding whether to press criminal charges against him, based on findings made by Scotland Yard’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command.

I wonder what he’ll sing at that hearing.

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In most of America when someone puts a For Sale sign in the yard, it means you wanna sell your house. But in Hollywood, people start wondering and gossiping.

Case in point: the recent story that 54-year-old director Sam Taylor-Johnson and her husband, 30-year-old Aaron Taylor-Johnson, put their house on the market is leading people to speculate that the Taylor-Johnsons are over after nine years of marriage.

Perhaps the rabid speculation spurred on by a For Sale sign is the relationship between Sam and Aaron. They met while filming 2009’s Nowhere Boy—she directed it, he played John Lennon; he was 18 at the time—just 6 years older than one of Sam’s children—and she was 42 and married, with two daughters. But Sam divorced her husband and started dating Aaron, and a year later they had a child together; 18 months later had their second child. And then they got married. So, she’s an older woman and she was his boss, so clearly there’s something creepy about all this and that’s why the rumors spread?

Or maybe they love each other and simply want to move, because everyone knows that, in Hollywood, if you want people to talk about your relationship ending, you take off your wedding ring around photographers.

But … but … if the story is true, and the couple are splitting up, and Aaron needs a place to stay, we have a lovely guest room here at Casa Bob y Carlos and it would take just a couple of minutes to move Carlos;’ things in there.

Just sayin’. I’ve seen Aaron fully nekkid in A Million Little Pieces and it’s spectacular.

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Once again Tristan Thompson has been accused of cheating on Khloé Kardastrophe.

Who did not see that coming? I mean, Tristan began dating Khloé after dumping his pregnant girlfriend for her; and then he knocked up Khloé and cheated on her while she was pregnant; and now, big surprise, he’s accused of cheating again with one Sydney Chase, an Instagram model.

Sydney is either a fool, the dumbest woman on the planet, or just a ho because she claims she had no idea Tristan had a girlfriend.

Khloé, on the other hand is either a fool, the dumbest woman on the planet, or just a ho because she doesn’t believe he cheated on her,

Again.

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Sure, these days you may know Alyssa Milano more from her work with the #MeToo movement, or her political Tweets, or her just plain outspokenness, but Milano made a name for herself on Who’s The Boss?, Melrose Place and Charmed.

So, recently, someone on social media went after Milano, claiming her career is basically over, and saying, “Sad how a washed-up actress is still trying to be important,” Milano was not having it. And because she’s the person who will respond to Tweets, she did so:

“I get a lot of those. Usually, it comes from people who identify as a different political party than I do. You see, I identify with the party who believes in equality and equity and opportunity for everyone, and also the party who fights for the most vulnerable and the marginalized communities. But beyond just that, just because you say something to be hurtful, it doesn’t make it true. I have consistently worked since I was 7 years old, and you can just fuck off now and move along.”

Zero fucks. I love that.

Simply put don’t come for Milano unless she sends for you.

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